New trees to help purify Brandywine Creek waters

By BILL RETTEW JR., Journal Register News Service

Friday, April 26, 2013

EAST BRANDYWINE — In a bid to ensure that the beer stays pure, Victory Brewing Company co-founder Bill Covaleski and about 35 volunteers recently helped plant 1,200 trees along the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek.

Victory Brewing Co. uses about 14 million gallons of East Brandywine Creek water in the beer-making process for the product distributed in 30 states. Covaleski is banking that local water stays free of contaminants, as the company has already made the decision to stay here.

“A great source leads to great beer making,” Covaleski said. “We’re in Chester County forever.”

Much more than beer quality is impacted by the plantings. The 1,200 rooted saplings were planted in organic tree shelter tubes that biodegrade over time on 16 acres of township-owned land at the former White Acres Farm property on Creek Road. The saplings were packed in quart containers.

Two- to 4-foot-tall tubes will protect the saplings from deer, moles and rodents and accelerate growth while concentrating warmth and heating the fledgling trees.

The new growth is part of a Brandywine Conservancy five year plan ending in 2014 to plant 25,000 trees in Chester County. Already, 18,000 new trees are growing along local waterways, with plans to plant 6,000 trees during 2013.

The project is part of the TreeVitalized program as administered by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and processed through the Stroud Water Research Center. The plan was developed and enabled by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Twelve different types of trees were recently planted in the township, including native oaks, maples and tulip poplars, at a cost of $11,000. Aqua America paid for the trees at the state level and that money was then passed to the local level.

One hundred and forty thousand people use the Brandywine Creek for drinking water, including residents of the Borough of West Chester, the town of Downingtown and the cities of Coatesville and Wilmington.

“Trees contribute so much to keeping the watershed clean,” Hillary Holland, director of public relations for the Brandywine Conservancy said. “Anything that goes into the top of the watershed comes out at the bottom.”

Wesley Horner, senior advisor for water resources at the Brandywine Conservancy, talked about the benefits of planting in riparian buffers where trees were often cut to the river’s edge and large swaths were paved over.

“The more trees we plant in the flow zones, the better the sponge is,” Horner said. “It slows the water and takes clay soils and makes them more permeable, making the flood plain much more absorbent.”

Scott Piersol, East Brandywine township manager, said the township will pitch in and mow the areas between the trees on the property across the creek from the Struble Trail and near to the site of a planned 2.5-mile cross-township pedestrian trial.

The benefits are many, said Holland.

“Trees provide food and shelter for life in and around streams, promote absorption of rain into the ground, replenish groundwater supplies, and reduce storm water runoff and downstream flooding,” Holland said. “In addition, tree leaves, branches and roots reduce erosion and prevent excess sediment and nutrients from entering streams during storm water runoff.

Tish Molloy is the executive director of the Guardians of the Brandywine, an 80-member, all-volunteer organization protecting the upper East Brandywine watershed. About 20 group members helped plant trees during the daylong Saturday event.

She said tree planting along waterways is a best management practice keeping the creeks healthy, the water cool and fish happy as root systems help filter out some contaminants.